Editor's Note: Each week, ActBlue will release key statistics from campaigns across the country, along with brief biographical notes on the week's top 10 candidates.* When we have information that may help to explain why a candidate has had increased activity on ActBlue, we will provide it in italics below the biography. Descriptive content reproduced in the ActBlue Campaign Newswire is collated from publicly available sources. ActBlue does not take sides in any Democratic primary. You can subscribe to the RSS feed of the Campaign Newswire by clicking the orange button in lower right-hand corner of this page.
III
1. Blue America PAC | $226,046.46
2. Kay Hagan | NC-Sen | $49,237.50
3. Rick Noriega | TX-Sen | $31,912.71
4. Joseph Sestak, Jr. | PA-07 | $20,825.00
5. Martin Heinrich | NM-01 | $18,220.00
6. Bob Lord | AZ-03 | $17,613.29
7. Regina Thomas | GA-12 | $14,382.37
8. Mark Warner | VA-Sen | $12,371.19
9. Russ Warner | CA-26 | $11,690.00
10. Dan Seals | IL-10 | $11,046.69
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Blue America PAC
Blue America is a collaborative effort of the blogs Crooks & Liars, Firedoglake, Digby, and Down With Tyranny, and Glen Greenwald at Salon.com. The group raised nearly $545,000 in the 2006 cycle in a matter of months, enough to fund a series of 60-second radio spots ("Have You Had Enough?") for their roster of candidates. Blue America has raised more than $660,000 so far this cycle across several pages.
Blue America's totals this week are fueled by the FISA drive, wherein the founders of the page are aiming to "fund accountability for congressmembers supporting retroactive immunity and warrantless wiretaps." The page is online at http://actblue.com/page/fisa . Those totals are accompanied by a steady stream of contributions to Blue America's slate page (http://actblue.com/page/blueamerica08).
Blue America's ActBlue Hub http://www.actblue.com/page/blueamerica08
Blue America's website http://blueamerica.firedoglake.com/
Kay Hagan (NC-Sen)
Hagan is running against Republican incumbent Elizabeth Dole and was recently named one of the "top ten most effective state senators" by the North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research (NCCPPR). In a lunch sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor in Washington, Sen. John Ensign listed the Hagan-Dole race as among the 10 most competitive races in the country. After winning the Democratic primary in May with 60 percent of the vote, the five-term North Carolina state senator continues to pick up high-profile endorsements.
Hagan's strong placement reflects totals from several successful events this week.
Hagan's ActBlue hubpage http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18560
Hagan's campaign site http://kayhagan.com/welcome
Rick Noriega (TX-Sen)
Noriega is certainly no newcomer to ActBlue success, and has been one of the top fundraisers on ActBlue this election cycle. After Noriega's Army tour in Afghanistan, the two-term Texas state representative and Lieutenant Colonel was appointed Incident Commander of Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in Houston, Texas. He's now running against Republican incumbent John Cornyn for the Texas Senate seat.
Still a member of the National Guard, Noriega had to report for mandatory training the first two weeks of June. In response, his campaign launched an ActBlue fundraiser called "Fill Rick's Boots" [http://actblue.com/partner/fillricksboots] to keep his supporters engaged during his absence from the campaign trail.
Noriega's fundraising totals reflect major fundraising pushes by Daily Kos at http://actblue.com/page/orangetoblue; continuing drives at http://actblue.com/page/fillricksboots, http://actblue.com/page/netrootsfornoriega, http://www.actblue.com/page/50for50, and http://actblue.com/page/webb4noriega; and an effort by "Bloggers for Veterans" to challenge the 22 Republican Senators who voted against the new GI Bill (http://actblue.com/page/gibill). Importantly, the campaign has encouraged its donors to become fundraisers in their own right.
Noriega's ActBlue hubpage http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18187
Noriega's campaign site http://www.ricknoriega.com/
Joseph Sestak Jr. (PA-07)
Former Navy Vice Admiral Joseph Sestak, Jr., was elected to Congress in 2006, defeating ten-term Republican incumbent Curt Weldon, and is running for re-election this year. Between tours, Sestak earned a master's degree in Public Administration and a Ph.D. in Political Economy and Government from Harvard, and later served as Director for Defense Policy on the staff of the National Security Council under President Clinton, and as director of "Deep Blue," the Navy's anti-terrorism unit. Sestak is the senior military veteran in Congress and the highest ranking former military officer ever elected to Congress. Sestak was among ActBlue's ten most successful candidates in 2006.
Sestak continues a broad-based fundraising push among small donors. Nearly half of Sestak's contributions this week were under $25.
Sestak's ActBlue hubpage http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/12839
Sestak's campaign site http://www.sestakforcongress.com/
Martin Heinrich (NM-01)
Albuquerque City Councilor Martin Heinrich is running for Congress in New Mexico's First District. Heinrich, once director of a foundation dedicated to science and environmental education, has served on several boards focused on environmental, open space, and urban issues, and has used his time on the City Council to work toward making New Mexico a leader in alternative energy and energy efficiency. Heinrich is running against Republican Darren White, who was recently aided by a George W. Bush fundraiser in Albuquerque.
This week marks Heinrich's best ever on ActBlue. The Heinrich campaign is in the midst of an end-of-quarter (EOQ) fundraising push, marked by a "Fill The Balloon!" challenge on the campaign website. The campaign is aiming to raise $35,000 by quarter's end to close the gap between Heinrich and Darren White. Heinrich is employing an innovative technique to attract EOQ donors: anyone who contributes up to June 30 will be entered into a drawing to "Hike with Heinrich" on one of his favorite trails in the District. Moreover, Heinrich has had a favorable presence of late in the blogosphere, contributing two pieces to local blogs in the past week, and benefiting from a highly favorable post by Sheriff Greg Solano of Santa Fe.
Heinrich's ActBlue hubpage http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18006
Heinrich's campaign site http://www.martinheinrich.com
Bob Lord (AZ-03)
Scottsdale attorney Bob Lord is a candidate for Congress in Arizona's Third District. Lord, the father of seven, lives in Phoenix, has been involved in a number of community initiatives, and has taught law at Arizona State. Lord is running against Representative John Shadegg (R-Phoenix).
Lord's successful fundraising week can be attributed to a major push this week by Daily Kos at http://www.actblue.com/page/orangetoblue.
Lord's ActBlue hubpage http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/16512
Lord's campaign site http://www.lord2008.com/
Regina Thomas (GA-12)
State Senator Regina Thomas is running for Congress in Georgia's Twelfth Congressional District.
Thomas is the beneficiary of a push led by Democrats.com (http://actblue.com/page/bushdemocrats), who are angling to "support progressive Democrats in primaries against 'Bush Democrats.'" Thomas was recently endorsed as the page's number one candidate, and raised some $13,000 in a day from more than 700 individual contributions with a median contribution size of less than $20. Thomas has also received substantial help this week from Blue America, profiled at the top.
Thomas's ActBlue hubpage http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/19682
Thomas's campaign site http://reginathomas4congress.com/index.html
Mark Warner (VA-Sen)
During his tenure as Virginia Governor from 2002-2006, Warner was hailed by Time Magazine as one of "America's 5 Best Governors" in 2005 and was featured in Newsweek's "Who's Next" issue in 2006. Warner is running for what will be Republican John Warner's vacated Senate seat.
Warner received substantial monies from a page seeking to raise funds to respond to attacks made by Warner's opponent, Jim Gilmore. The page is online at http://actblue.com/page/recordstraight, and contains the following text:
Over the past two weeks, Jim Gilmore has repeatedly accused Mark Warner of lying. Gilmore says that Warner concocted a "myth" about the budget disaster - that there was no fiscal crisis, no budget shortfall, that it was all a grand conspiracy to pull one over on the people of Virginia - and some of the state's leading Republicans were in on it. But, according to the Washington Post, "In Mr. Gilmore, Virginia had its very own Herbert Hoover." We need your help to muster enough resources to get the truth out to voters all across Virginia. Please make a contribution.
Warner's ActBlue hubpage http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18420
Warner's campaign site http://markwarner2008.com/welcome
Russ Warner (CA-26)
Russ Warner is a candidate for Congress in California's Twelfth Congressional District, which encompasses the San Gabriel Valley from La Crescenta to Rancho Cucamonga. Warner is a veteran of the magazine distribution trade, and is the father of three sons, one of whom recently returned from service in Iraq. Warner is running against Republican Congressman David Dreier.
Warner is a Blue America candidate, and has attracted continuous support on ActBlue since winning the Democratic Party on June 6. The candidate also participated in an innovative Earth Day bike tour through his district (http://actblue.com/page/ridewithrusswarner), encouraging donations of $1 per mile.
Warner's ActBlue hubpage http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/16419
Warner's campaign site http://www.warnerforcongress.com/
Dan Seals (IL-10)
Dan Seals is currently a business consultant and public policy lecturer at Northwestern University whose professional life has included stints in both the public and private sectors. Seals first ran against Republican incumbent Mark Kirk for Illinois's 10th District seat in 2006 and nearly won with 47 percent of the vote. The former GE Capital marketing director is challenging Kirk once again, and this year has earned a spot on the second round of the DCCC Red to Blue Candidates List. In both election cycles, Seals has consistently been among the top ActBlue fundraisers.
Seals has been the beneficiary this week of a fundraising push at Orange to Blue, the Daily Kos ActBlue page (http://www.actblue.com/page/orangetoblue).
Seals's ActBlue hubpage http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/16318
Seals's campaign site http://www.dansealsforcongress.com/index.php
* All fundraising totals represent the amount raised from June 17 until 9 a.m. on June 23.
